after two years of hard work (and some dawdling), my book of stories about my herping exploits in Taiwan has finally hit the shelves:

"A Cobra Hijacked My Camera Bag! - Snakes And Stories From Taiwan"

is now available online. US readers, please order here. For non-US readers, the book is now also available through BookDepository where anyone in a wide range ofcountries can order the book for just a little more than the US price and get free shipping -see here.

Here's the table of contents:Prologue – Why did it have to be snakes...and why in Taiwan?Herping in Taiwan – An OverviewCobras – Rice Ladle With AttitudeRatsnakes - The Fast and the FuriousVipers – Clint Eastwoods of SnakedomKrait – Satans Rubber ToyRear-Fanged – Daggers in the BackMiscellaneous - The Weird and the WonderfulPangolin – The Beast That Time Forgot

And here's the back cover blurb:

The herp is on! Hans Breuer searches for a new pet ratsnake in Taipei restaurants, loses a coral snake in his living room, confronts a cobra in complete darkness, and assumes unorthodox yogic postures to photograph kraits, habus, and bamboo snakes. Between the tree ferns of Taiwan's lush, rugged mountains, this brilliant amateur naturalist draws us along to experience a fantastic variety of snakes, along with turtles, civets, pangolins, and other representatives of the island's immense biodiversity.

During his constant search for reptiles and amphibians, Hans introduces the best of Taiwan with quirky humor, while educating the reader in remarkable detail. The author’s twenty-two years in Taiwan, and fluency in Mandarin Chinese, have given him a broad experience with all facets of Taiwan life, complementing his herpetological observations. We learn about food and drinking customs, dealing with curious police officers, and the aboriginal relationship to Taiwan’s rich animal life.

With this book in hand, you don't need a plane ticket to enjoy the thrill of herping Taiwan, but after reading Hans' adventures, you might just book your next vacation there!

I would like to thank VERY MUCH all those of you who have made this possible. I'm extremely excited!

For those of you who will actually buy a copy: I hope you'll have as much fun reading it as I had writing it.

For those of you won't: please tell all those of your herping buddies who might - any publicity is good publicity

And lastly: if you have connections to any venue or body that might be able to promote and maybe even sell the book (online forums, websites, herp shows, pet shops etc...), please let me know!

Do you have any copies? How much for a signed book plus postage from Sarawak? After reading your posts foe three or so years, I feel I personally know you. Next best thing, how about a signed insert for the book for your fellow herpers and admirers? Thanks, Art Cecil

Do you have any copies? How much for a signed book plus postage from Sarawak? After reading your posts foe three or so years, I feel I personally know you. Next best thing, how about a signed insert for the book for your fellow herpers and admirers? Thanks, Art Cecil

Wah....thanks very much, that's very touching!! Alas, it's print-on-demand, so I'd have to buy one, sign and send it to you, which would cost up to ten bucks extra. But let me talk to my editor, maybe he knows of a way.

Congrats Mark, helli, and Hans (and all other friends of Bill). I'll have 29 in late December. Back to the thread topic... Can't wait to read your book Hans. I always look forward to your posts. That chapter title

Hans, congratulations!! This is quite an achievement! I'm working on my first novel as well, sort of an autobiography, and have stalled for some months now. Imagining completing it can be daunting, but reading that it took you 2 years renews my hope.

Your book sounds very interesting and entertaining. I hope it does well for you!

Thanks very much! Mark, I've always fancied the late John Candy for the starring role. If there was ever anyone whose thespian work embodied the worst parts of me like a mirror, it was him. Alas, he's no more, so I'll have to play myself

SS, the writing per se only took one off-season (Sept.-Feb.) No stalling in that part - I just used the time I would have spent herping during the summer, like, 5 hours every day But the editing, the proofreading by three people, and the search for a publisher (the latter temporarily put on hold for over half a year by a little side project called "Moving To Borneo") - took up the rest of the time. Hang in there, and if you need a proofreader, let me know. I do that stuff for a living, and would do it for free.

Just got my copy yesterday afternoon! Excited to read through it this weekend! From an aesthetic pov, it looks great! Some nice shots and a great hardcover - maybe just a picture book the next go around?

Can't believe it's been two years already ... hard at work on the next book now, tentative working title: "Hornbill Boogie: A Greenhorn Naturalist in Borneo". (Let's hope I'll have a better idea for a name by the time I'm done )

How about "Borneo Dispatches: Reptile Hunting Where the Hunt Never Ends". You alluded to the fact that the perpetual herping season made it hard for you to get working on the book about those adventures, and your signature name for your posts would seem to fit this fine. Eh, it's 2:30 in the morning. Disregard if I'm not making sense.-Gene

Actually, you're making a lot of sense - I really like your idea! But there's so much more to Borneo than just herps, and I need to take that into account. Unlike the last book, which was more specialized and therefore suitable for print-on-demand, I'm hoping to find a traditional publisher who will put the book in every cafe, hotel, and airport bookshop on the island. It's also a different format - a chronological account of our journey and adventures on the island. Therefore, "Dispatches" doesn't work, as it implies a segmental structure. But I sure wish I could use the idea!

I'm about fifteen pages into the first chapter - The Road to the Rainforest - which is dedicated to the time before we came to Borneo, and the reasons for our move,namely my little green friends, as the following excerpt suggests. (DISCLAIMER: UNEDITED VERSION STRAIGHT FROM THE AUTHOR!):

But my greenhouse held nothing even as remotely mundane as tomatoes or begonias. Far from it. Beneath the shady covers, there reigned the Dark Side of Gardening, manifested as a primordial, hostile jungle. The air was hot and gelatinous. Snarls of vines, hanging from light fixtures and sprinkler pipes, and snaking along the walls like tentacles, were ready to strangle anything foolish enough to ignore them. Armies of obscenely gaping traps, wickedly camouflaged and baited with sweet, sticky knockout juice, lay in wait for unsuspecting prey. The heady aroma of digestive fluids mixed with the pong of rotting cadavers. It was Mordor-on-the-Green; a floral abattoir where innocent little creatures met their agonizing end in an orgy of silent screams.

Or at least, that was the general view among the local insect community. My greenhouse, you see, was devoted to the cultivation of one of the most formidable life forms ever to populate the Kingdom of Plants: flesh-devouring pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes.

I sure do love reading your work, Hans. To me, you're a real artist and your mastery is even more remarkable considering that English isn't your first language (IIRC). You've got a far better handle on the language than the vast majority of native English-speaking folks I know.

Actually, you're making a lot of sense - I really like your idea! But there's so much more to Borneo than just herps, and I need to take that into account. Unlike the last book, which was more specialized and therefore suitable for print-on-demand, I'm hoping to find a traditional publisher who will put the book in every cafe, hotel, and airport bookshop on the island. It's also a different format - a chronological account of our journey and adventures on the island. Therefore, "Dispatches" doesn't work, as it implies a segmental structure. But I sure wish I could use the idea!

I'm about fifteen pages into the first chapter - The Road to the Rainforest - which is dedicated to the time before we came to Borneo, and the reasons for our move,namely my little green friends, as the following excerpt suggests. (DISCLAIMER: UNEDITED VERSION STRAIGHT FROM THE AUTHOR!):

But my greenhouse held nothing even as remotely mundane as tomatoes or begonias. Far from it. Beneath the shady covers, there reigned the Dark Side of Gardening, manifested as a primordial, hostile jungle. The air was hot and gelatinous. Snarls of vines, hanging from light fixtures and sprinkler pipes, and snaking along the walls like tentacles, were ready to strangle anything foolish enough to ignore them. Armies of obscenely gaping traps, wickedly camouflaged and baited with sweet, sticky knockout juice, laid in wait for unsuspecting prey. The heady aroma of digestive fluids mixed with the pong of rotting cadavers. It was Mordor-on-the-Green; a floral abattoir where innocent little creatures met their agonizing end in an orgy of silent screams.

Or at least, that was the general view among the local insect community. My greenhouse, you see, was devoted to the cultivation of one of the most formidable life forms ever to populate the Kingdom of Plants: flesh-devouring pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes.

Well, thanks for reading. Back to the grind

Well, considering your Dispatches series here on the Forum has already gone into some depth on your finds in Borneo, perhaps not using that format for the book would make sure that every reader got a completely fresh look at your experience. Oh, and I've been told I'm a fair writer, but you could edit my work a hundred times before it bore any resemblance to the eloquence of the preview we just got right there!

-Gene

-PS, I would like the final chapter to be dedicated to the Lanthanotus and Xenodermus that we know you must have found by now. It's not a secret anymore.

thank you most kindly for the wonderful support and the compliments - that makes writing much easier!

Quote:

I would like the final chapter to be dedicated to the Lanthanotus and Xenodermus that we know you must have found by now. It's not a secret anymore.

I swear on my grandmother's fuzzy orange beard - I've never seen a Xenodermusin my life, dead or otherwise. On the other hand, I won't deny or confirm that I've never seen a live Lanthanotus. I will say that there's going to be be an entire chapter devoted to the Earless Monitor in the book - hopefully I'll receive official permission for it by then.

PS: Mark, you remember correctly, English is not my first language (German is), but I've been learning it for almost 40 years, 25 of which I've spent in Asia. Also helpful is my job as a translator and editor, and the fact that I've been reading pretty much nothing but English books for the last 30 years (save for the odd Chinese and German novel). Garbage in, garbage out

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum